Due to its advantages, such as light weight, thin thickness, low power consumption and low radiation, the liquid crystal cell has been widely used in various fields. The liquid crystal cell generally includes two substrates oppositely arranged, and a liquid crystal layer sandwiched between the two substrates. A voltage is applied across electrodes on the two substrates to align liquid crystal molecules in the liquid crystal layer under the control of an electric field and to control the transmission of light. In this way, an image is displayed. Spacers are provided between the two substrates so that the thickness of the liquid crystal cell between the two substrates is constant. Generally, some spacers are distributed between the two substrates, and columnar spacers are formed directly on the substrate.
The liquid crystal cell in the prior art as shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 2a and FIG. 2b includes a first substrate 1, and a second substrate 2 provided to be opposite to the first substrate 1, a liquid crystal layer 3 formed between the first substrate 1 and the second substrate 2. A whole plane electrode 11 is formed on an entire surface of the first substrate 1, and strip electrodes 21 provided in parallel are formed on the second substrate 2. A first spacer 41 is provided on a side of the first substrate 1 facing to the liquid crystal layer, and a second spacer 42 is provided on a side of the second substrate 2 facing to the liquid crystal layer. The cross sections of the first spacer 41 and the second spacer 42, taken in a direction parallel with the first substrate 1 or the second substrate 2, are rectangular. Specifically, the length direction of the cross section of the first spacer 41 is parallel with an X direction of the first substrate 1 (i.e., an angle between the length direction of the cross section of the first spacer 41 and the X direction of the first substrate 1 is substantially 0° or substantially 180°), and the length direction of the cross section of the second spacer 42 is in parallel with a Y direction of the second substrate 2 (i.e., an angle between the length direction of the cross section of the second spacer 42 and an X direction of the second substrate 2 is substantially 90°). Further, in conjunction with FIG. 2c, when the first substrate 1 is bonded to the second substrate 2, the first spacer 41 is substantially perpendicular to and intersects the second spacer 42. In this way, the first substrate 1 and the second substrate 2 is supported to keep a certain distance between the first substrate 1 and the second substrate 2.
The spacers are provided on the first substrate 1 and the second substrate 2 of the above liquid crystal cell in respective directions in the prior art. Thus, two substrates need to be developed and exposed by using two masks respectively to form the first spacer 41 and the second spacer 42, thus increasing the complexity of the technology and the cost of production.